High school girls in Brisbane, Australia recently created an elite group they called "Club 21." The girls ranked themselves and each other based on weight, appearance, and popularity with boys -- the higher the number, the higher the ranking -- and then wrote their number on their wrists. One student wrote, "Ugly girls need not apply."

When the club was discovered, parents and local media were outraged. The club made the front page of many local papers. The school principal, however, is now defending his students, saying they've been devastated by the negative attention. He's asking everyone involved to remember that these are teenagers, vulnerable young people who make mistakes.

I was surprised when I found his view refreshing. As a former sensitive girl who is now a mother to two sensitive girls, I'm concerned about the high school years ahead. The "mean girl" culture scares me; I worry that my girls will be a target of it or that, maybe worse, they'll be a part of it. While I think the behavior of these girls is unacceptable and needs to be dealt with, I have to agree that the harsh media criticism their getting is likely more damaging than it is helpful.

Instead of attacking children, maybe time would be better spent changing the environment that creates these types of behaviors in the first place. One of the best books I've read about parenting girls is Packaging Girlhood (they also have a blog), and in it, they spend a lot of time discussing how the "mean girl" culture was born and is cultivated, as well as ways that we as parents can put a stop to it.

I'm curious -- what do you think? Is the media being too harsh on the girls from Brisbane, or are they getting what they deserve? How do you support (or plan to support) your girls in their teenage years?

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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 1)

The mean culture has been in place a very long time. Even the Little House on the Prairie books had their version of meanness in characters Nancy Oleson and her gossiping mother, Harriett who flaunted the fact that they had more than the Wilder family every time they had a chance.

However, I think that it has gotten more open and vicious. It's one thing to be haughty and snobbish and another thing altogether when there are videos coming out with film footage made of groups of girls ganging up on other students.

What's the answer? My opinion would be to cut back on violence on television. When kids see violence in their homes (even if it is fictional) on a regular basis, they think it's normal.

Why should we be shocked when they simulate violent behavior they see on tv? They want to look like the stars. Why would we think that they wouldn't try to act like them?

This sort of thing has probably been around forever. As sad as it is, this is just the way most girl cliques are. It was certainly that way the high schools I went to (changed during the year) and was also that way when I was on exchange.Writing their "score" seems a bit childish, and just makes it visible to parents.

But trust me, as someone who didn`t fit into the cliques... Girl cruelty and emotional bullying knows no bounds - even in grade school. Punishing the girls will just make them even worse toward those who aren`t in the IN circle. After all, it will be their fault they were punished.

This sort of thing happens all the time, the only difference is they actually vocalized it. Every group or clique has their own rules for admittance. Would parents be equally outraged if the "jocks" outright said, "no uncoordinated people need apply."?

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